Whoa: Threats over VIOLENCE at Ann Coulter’s speech just got uglier…

The controversy going down at the University of California, Berkley is continuing to heat up as questions are beginning to arise about the city’s mayor’s ties to an extremist group.

Conservative speaker and author Ann Coulter is due to give a speech this week on campus, which has fears of potential rioting spiking to an all-time high.

Coulter has vowed she will do the appearance as planned, which has made many liberals on campus super uncomfortable.

According to Fox News, Charles “Sid” Heal, a retired commander from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department who met with Berkeley police on Monday, said that authorities are preparing for the worst because extremist groups from across the spectrum are heading to Berkeley, and because the past three protests that devolved into violence were met by a “lackluster” response from local police.

“We’ve been told they’re going to come no matter whether Ann Coulter comes or not, and the next riot is not a standalone in isolation but a natural consequence of the lackluster approach of the past,” Heal said, adding that because protesters felt police didn’t protect them at the last riot many are pledging to defend themselves. “People are becoming vigilantes.”

Heal and others said there is deep discord between the Berkeley Police Department and the city government, led by Jesse Arreguin, the 32-year-old newly elected mayor facing his first major test in running a large city. Arreguin has been accused of supporting left-wing violence because he is a member of the Facebook group of By Any Means Necessary, or BAMN, an anarchist group that has incited violent protests across the country.

n a statement to Fox News, Arreguin distanced himself from Felarca and BAMN.

“On social media, following a particular account does not mean you support that group or individual,” he said. “I was following this particular group so I could stay up to date on what they are up to. I condemn their violent actions in the strongest terms.”

But a source close to Berkeley city government accused Arreguin of bolstering leftist groups by secretly aligning himself with them.

“Mayor Arreguin is not representing all of Berkeley right now,” the source who wished to remain anonymous told Fox News, “he’s coming from a deep leftist position. We have some very radical elements on the police review commission. Jesse is emboldening them because he has a majority on the commission.”

Arreguin has stated that all protestors who commit acts of violence will be arrested, regardless of whether they are right or left politically.

Many folks in the community, however, are not as confident in the mayor and police to keep them safe and protected, especially since three free speech protests have turned violent since February.

What likely chaps many delicate snowflakes’ backside is that Arreguin and Heal both support Coulter’s right to speak at the school.

Isn’t it funny how liberal college kids absolutely loathe free speech, which is ironically exactly what they use when they protest against free speech?

Lieutenant Colonel West served 22 years in the United States Army and was elected to serve in the United States Congress in 2010. Allen is a Fox News Contributor and author of Guardian of the Republic: An American Ronin’s Journey to Faith, Family and Freedom.